Folded blank box



Dec. 20, 1960 J. E. A. PRIETO FOLDED BLANK BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 51, 1958 INVENTOR JOSE EMR/STO ARM/1S PR/ETO BY L. NW

ATTQRNEY Dec. 20, 1960 J. E. A. PRIETO FOLDED BLANK Box 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 51, 1958 INVENTOR JOSE E VAR/8T0 ARMAS PR/ETO BYQW L- ATTORNEY United States Patent 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-27) assignor N.Y., a corporation This invention relates to containers, and more particularly to the structure of a folded blank box which is especially suitable for the transportation of fruits or vegetables, but is also applicable for other articles requiring the use of a substantially rigid container of light weight and exceptional strength.

Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide a folded blank box, preferably stamped from a single sheet of heavy paper corrugated board which, whenerected, will be substantially rigid and capable of being stacked one upon another without being crushed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a folded blank box having a novel interlocking arrangement to secure the cover in its closed position.

Another object is to provide a compartmented container which may be set up from a single blank of sheet material, wherein certain of the sidewalls are provided with hand grip openings for lifting and moving the container, and wherein the lifting force applied to the hand grip openings is directly transmitted by means of a novel interlocking flap arrangement directly to the bottom of the container as well as the side walls thereof.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a folded blank box of elongated configuration separated into compartments by a medial dividing wall, wherein the elongated side walls and the bottom of the box comprise a plurality of layers of sheet material, said additional layers of material being composed of a novel arrangement of interlocking flaps formed integrally with the divider wall and side walls.

Still another object is to provide a compartmented box formed from a single blank of sheet material, wherein a central interior partition is composed of a pair of divider walls each of which is connected by a foldline to a separate bottom wall panel, the respective bottom wall panels being connected by foldlines to the respective opposite end walls of the box, each of the end walls having a cover panel connected thereto by a foldline, the cover panels being provided with downwardly projecting flaps which interlockingly engage with the divider walls when closed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a partition container having interlocked side walls and a divider wall of multi-ply construction, and including hinged cover members provided with downwardly projecting flaps which interlockingly engage with the divider panels, the side walls of the container being provided with hand grip openings for lifting the container and also for manipulating the cover flaps for opening and closing the container.

Other objects and advantages will also e apparent from a consideration of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred form of the invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank of sheet material employed to form one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view, on a somewhat enlarged ice 2 scale, showing an intermediate stage in the erection of a'box from'the blank shown in Figure 1; 1 Figure 3 is a perspective view of the box at a later stage'in its erection; Figure 4 is a side perspective view, on the same scale as Figure 1, showing the completely erected box with the covers open;

Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 4, but with the covers closed; and Figure '6 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-section on a greatly enlarged scale showing the interlocking engagement between the cover flaps and the divider panels.

Referring now to the blank shown in Figure 1, it will be seen that there are provided a pair of end wall panels 10 and 10', and "a pair of side wall panels 11 and 11', extending alternately along a medial portion of the blank and connected to each other by foldlines. Depending, respectively, from each of the end panels 10 and 10' are a pair of T-shaped portions each of these portions com prising bottom wall panels 12 and 12, divider wall panels 13 and 13, and intermediate side wall reinforcing panels 14 and 14'. The intermediate side wall panels extend laterally outwardly from the divider panels and are connected thereto by foldlines; each of the divider wall panels is joined to one end of a bottom wall by "a foldline and, in turn, the other end of each of the bottom walls is'connected by a foldline with the respective end walls from which it depends. Depending from the side wall 11, and connected thereto by foldlines, are a pair of bottom reinforcing panels 15 and 16. However, these panels are cutout along a portiono'f the length of their foldlines to provide the slots 17 and 18 for a purpose which will be later described, and the material is also slit'downwardly at the extremities of these slots to define the flaps 19 and 20. Similarly, a pair of depending bottom reinforcing panels 15 and 16' are connected by foldlines with the side wall 11', these reinforcing panels being slotted along their foldlines, as at 17' and 17', and being slitted to provide theflaps 10 and 20 respectively. Projecting upwardly, and connected thereto by foldlines, area pair of inner side wall reinforcing panels 21 and 22. The vertical height of these panels is approximately equal to the height of the side wall and medially of their upper margins they are provided with upwardly projecting tongue portions 23 and 24, respec tively. These tongue portions are positioned in vertical alignment withand substantially coextensive in length with the slots 17 and 18 in the respective bottom rein forcing panels 15 and 16. Similarly, the other side wall 11' has inner side wall reinforcing panels 21' and 22 connected to it by foldlines, with the upwardly projecting tongue portions 23 and 24' arranged'in alignment with the slots 17' and 18.

Projecting upwardly from the end panel 10, and joined thereto by a foldline, is a cover panel '25, and spaced somewhat below the upper margin of the cover panel another foldline, parallel to the foldline which joins the cover and end panel, is provided to define a flap 26 extending across the entire width of the cover. Similarly, a cover panel 25' is joined by means of a foldline with the end panel 10' and is also provided with a cover flap 26'. Elongated openings 27 and 27' are cut out, respectively, in the center of the side panels 11 and 11' near the foldlines which define their upper margins when the box is erected. Since the inner side panels will be folded down when the box is erected, it is also necessary to provide the marginally indented cut out portions 28 arranged so as to be in registry with the openings 27 and 27'. The intermediate side panels 14 and 14 are also pro- Y jded with cut out portions, indicated at 29, and disposed to be in registry with openings 27 and 27'. However, these cut outs are extended laterally to extend across the foldline and partially into the surface of the divider panels 13 and 13', this extension of the cut outs being provided for interlocking engagement with the tabs 30 formed by the inwardly directed marginal slits 31 cut at each end of the cover flaps 26 and 26'. Suitable ventilating openings 32 may also be provided, if desired, in the various panels as shown.

The steps in the erection of a box from the blanks shown in Figure 1 are illustrated progressively in Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5. The first step is to fold up the end panels ,10 and and the side panels 11 and 11' about their lower foldlines until they are disposed at right angles to the respective bottom panels 12 and 12 and bottom reinforcing panels 15, 16, and 16. The divider panel 13 is next folded up about the foldline which separates it from the bottom wall 12, and the intermediate side wall reinforcing panels 14 are each folded inwardly and fiat against the divider panel 13. Then, the bottom reinforcing panel 15' is folded upwardly flat against the side wall panel 11', and in this position the entire blank is folded about the then vertically positioned foldline between the end wall 10 and the side wall 11 until they are arranged in right angled relationship, in which position one end of the divider panel 13 will abut against the center of the side wall 11'. The bottom reinforcing wall 15 may then be pushed down flat on top of bottom wall 12, and the intermediate side wall panels 14 are opened up at right angles to the divider panel 13, at which point thebox will resemble the structure shown in Figure 2.

The next step is to fold down the inner side wall reinforcing panel 21 so that it lies fiat against the inner surface of the intermediate side wall panel 14, in which position the depending tongue 23' will be interlocked within the slot 17' in the bottom reinforcing panel 15', as shown in Figure 3. The divider panel 13' may now be folded up at right angles to the bottom wall panel 12', and the intermediate side wall panels 14' will be folded inwardly flat against the divider 13. The bottom wall reinforcing panel 16' is next folded upwardly flat against the side wall panel 11', and while held in this position the left hand portion of the blank, as shown in Figure 2, is folded inwardly to place the end wall panel 10' at right angles to the side wall 11' thus bringing the divider panel 13' into back to back relationship to the divider panel 13, as shown in Figure 3. The bottom wall reinforcing panel 16' is then pushed back down flat against the bottom wall 12, and the intermediate side wall panels 14' are extended outwardly at right angles to the divider panel 13', in which position the blank will now resemble the structure shown in Figure 3.

The inner side wall reinforcing panel 22' is now folded downwardly fiat against the intermediate side panel 14' and will be retained in place by the interlocking engagement between the tongue 24 and the slot 18. The bottom wall reinforcing panels 15 and 16 are now folded upwardly flat against the side wall 11 and the right hand portion of the blank is brought around to position the side wall 11 at right angles to the end wall 10. At this point, the intermediate side wall panels 14 and 14, which are facing the upwardly folded bottom wall panels 15 and 16, are folded back against their respective divider panels 13 and 13' to allow the bottom panels 15 and 16 to be pushed downwardly fiat against their respective bottom panels 12 and 12, after which the intermediate side panels 14 and 14 are brought back so as to lie flat against the side panel 11. The inner side wall reinforcing panels 21 and 22 may now be folded downwardly over the intermediate side panels 14 and 14' so as to be held flat against their inner surfaces by interlocking engagement respectively between projecting tongue portions 23 and 24 and slots 17 and 18.

The completely erected box, with the covers open, will now resemble the structure shown in Figure 4. When the box is to be closed the cover flaps 26 and 26' will be folded downwardly at right angles to their respective covers 25 and 25' and inserted between the upper margins of the divider panels 13 and 13' as is shown in Figure 5. By an examination of Figure 6, it will be seen that after the covers have been closed it is possible to reach in through the hand grip openings 27 and 27' to bend back the tabs 30 so that they will project through those portions of openings 29 that extend into thedivider panels 13 and 13', and will thus interlockingly engage with these openings to secure the covers in their closed position. When the box is to be opened, it is only necessary to reach into the hand grip openings to straighten the tabs 30 and then, to initially raise the cover flaps 26 and 26, push the tabs 30 upwardly between the divider panels.

It will be readily observed that this invention provides a box of unusually strong and rigid construction. The fact that the longitudinally extending side walls include three layers of material along substantially their entire length makes it possible to support the entire weight of the box, even when fully packed, at a point midway between the ends of the box and adjacent the upper margin because, when the box is lifted by means of the openings 27 and 27' a portion of the lifting force is transmitted directly to the bottom wall panels 12 and 12' by virtue of the direct connection between the intermediate side wall panels 14, 14', the divider panels 13, 13' and the bottom panel.

Having described and shown one form in which this invention may be practiced, it will be understood that modifications and improvements may be made therein which would be included within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

- A unitary blank box comprising a pair of end walls, a pair of oppositely disposed spaced exterior side walls, each of said exterior side walls having connected thereto on one edge by foldlines a pair of bifurcated bottom reinforcing walls and on the opposite edge a pair of bifurcated interior side walls, a pair of divider walls adapted to be vertically disposed back-to-back extending between said exterior side walls equidistant from said end walls, a pair of bottom walls, each of said bottom walls being interconnected by foldlines to one of said divider walls on one end and to one of said end walls on the opposite end, each of said divider walls having jonied thereto by vertical foldlines laterally extending intermediate side reinforcing walls adapted to juxtapose at least a portion of said exterior side walls, each of said exterior side walls being provided with a hand grip opening therein spaced below the upper margin thereof adjacent and bisected by said divider walls, each of said intermediate side reinforcing walls and said interior side walls, being provided with an opening disposed in registry with said hand grip opening in said exterior side walls, and each of said divider walls having cut out portions adjacent and corresponding in height to said hand grip opening, a pair of cover panels connected each to one of said end walls by a foldline each of said cover panels having defined by a foldline, a marginal flap adapted to overlie a portion of the surface of one of said divider walls, each of said marginal flaps containing slits in the extremities thereof, said slits extending inwardly from the ends of said flaps parallel to said last named foldline, said slits defining bendable tabs, sai d bendable tabs comprising locking means in operating position extending into and cooperating with said cut out portions of said divider walls when manipulated in locking engagement with said cut out portions of said divider walls through said hand grip openings, said box being sealed at one corner between one end wall and one exterior Side wall when erected.

{References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Daley Dec. 10, 1935 Reaume Feb. 20, 1940 v Buttery Aug. 14, 1945 Morand June 7, 1949 Ferguson May 13, 1952 Wilson June 10, 1958 

